Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Reversed Opposites
by Lillian Amelia Lund
Summary: A human-turned-Machop embarks on a journey to search for his missing memories and find out why he was brought to the world of Pokemon, and he might just save the world in the process. (OCs being accepted. See inside for details. And, I'll review one of your stories if you review this one.)
1. Chapter 1

**Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Reversed Opposites**

* * *

 _Mmm, the wind feels nice today. I wish I could just keep relaxing like this all day, but I should probably get back to…to…huh, I can't remember what I needed to get back to. I guess I'm just a little groggy, I'm sure I'll remember in a little while._

I stood up from my place on the ground, leaving behind a body shaped imprint in the grass, stretched my arms as far as they could go and was rewarded with a satisfying series of snaps, crackles, and pops.

 _Now…where am I again?_

I lazily cast my eyes about, trying to find something that might jog my memory. There were green trees as far as the eye could see and a small pond near where I had been laying just moments before, but there wasn't much beyond that. I went to run a hand through my hair only to discover that my hair was missing! And in its place were three solid ridges that ran from my forehead to the back of my head.

 _What?! Why!? Where!? How?!_

I dashed to the edge of the pond in front of me and dropped to my knees. Leaning over the crystal clear waters of the pond, I found myself staring at a Machop. My brow furrowed in confusion for a moment before a realization dawned on me. I tilted my head slowly to one side and then the other, and watched as the Machop followed suit. I reached my hand out, hoping to all that was holy that I my hand would connect with the Machop I saw, but it didn't. My hand went into the water, causing ripples that distorted the image before me. Now that it was in front of me, I could see that the skin on my arm was no longer the pale color it used to be; instead, it had been replaced with gray colored skin that was tougher than the flesh of my arms should have been. Looking down at the rest of my body, I now noticed that it was covered in the same gray skin as my arms.

 _How did this happen?! Think man, think! What were you doing before this? I was…I was…was…graaaahh! I can't remember what I was doing! In fact, I can remember anything! Do I have a family? Where do I live? I can't answer any of these questions!_

 _I…I still remember everything I knew about Pokémon…and…I can remember my name…Valter Lund. I'm pretty sure that's my name…but…I can't remember anything aside from that._

My eyes started to tear up as I realized that I was lost, alone, and without my memories. For the sake of my masculinity, I attempted to force my tears back down, hoping that there was no one around to see me cry.

I sat beside the pond for what seemed like forever until I noticed the sun was on its way down. I needed to find shelter fast, before it was completely dark and hopefully I'd be able to build a fire too. I stood up, dusted myself off and ran into the forest in hopes that I could find a hollow tree or a cave if I was lucky. But when the sun was on the verge of setting, I still hadn't found anything that could be considered shelter. Finally, I ended up curling up against a tree and praying that it wouldn't rain.

Just as I started to drift off, I felt something moving. My eyes shot open, searching for the source of the movement, but saw nothing. I brushed it off as my imagination playing tricks on me and sat back down to sleep. And then it happened again; something behind me was moving. I turned slowly but saw only the tree that I had been leaning against.

 _It couldn't be…right?_

As if to prove me wrong, the tree started moving back and forth; pulling its roots up from the ground. I stared in disbelief as, what I thought were branches, revealed themselves to be arms. I stumbled back a few steps and finally realized that it wasn't a tree it all, it was a Trevenant!

"Can I help you with something?" It asked in a monotone voice.

"I..I…I…" _I need to get out of here!_

"Oh, are you perhaps a Wild? Hmm, but I've never seen any wild Machops around these parts."

"You…You're…talking?" I said.

"Oh! So you can speak! That means you couldn't be a Wild. If that's the case, it's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Erlend." When I didn't respond, he followed up with: "And you are?"

"M-my name…is…Valter. Valter Lund." I was still scared silly by this turn of events. I was somehow a Machop, he was a Trevenant, and to top it all off, he could talk!

"A surname? How unusual. A nice change of pace though, it has been a while since I last met someone who possessed a surname." He looked around before calling out. "Carol! Vera! Anders! Come on out, he's not a Wild!"

I watched as three Pokémon came out of different hiding spots nearby. There was a Honchkrow, an Audino, and a Hariyama.

"Guys, this is Valter. Valter, these are my friends and Rescue Team members: Carol the Audino, Vera the Honchkrow, and Anders the Hariyama. We just finished a tough mission that left us all weak and drained of energy, so when Carol heard you running through the forest, we all hid until we knew what we were dealing with. And fortunately, you don't seem to be very hostile."

I briefly ran my eyes across each of them. They were all covered in bruises and cuts, presumably from their mission, and each wore a blue neckerchief with silver trim and what looked like a winged amulet pinned to each one. In addition, Carol was wearing some kind of backpack.

"What's a Rescue Team?" I asked bluntly. Judging from their reactions, it was a stupid question.

"How stupid can you be to not know what a Rescue Team is, kid?" Vera squawked.

"Vera, please." Carol said with a sigh. "A rescue team is a group of two to four Pokémon that band together and help those in need by accepting the job requests that have been made at the Council Office." Carol said with a smile.

"Each Rescue Team starts out as a Normal Rank team, but after completing enough missions, the Council will award that team a higher rank and thus earning them the right to take on tougher missions." Anders explained. "I don't like to brag or nothin' but we happen to be a Platinum Rank team." He said with no small amount of pride in his voice.

"Indeed. But in any case, we should be on our way back to Vaesen Town. It was nice meeting you, Valter." Erlend said. And with that, the four of them started off.

"W-wait!" At my outcry, they stopped and looked back at me. "Can I come with you?" I asked desperately. This might be my only chance to find civilization.

"Well, I don't see why not, there's nothing stopping you." Erlend said. I caught up with them and we started moving.

"So, kid, where you from?" Anders asked.

 _Oh no. Do I tell them the truth? I mean, it's not like they're going to get mad at me for having amnesia, but at the same time, I don't even know them…_

"Uh, I'm from…Vaesen Town." I lied. "I just got lost and wandered into this forest."

Erlend shot me a strange look. "This forest is an awfully long way from Vaesen Town for someone to just wander into it accidently." Before I could reply he continued. "But what you do is your business, not mine." I breathed a sigh of relief.

After that, I walked in silence, only catching bits and pieces of what was being said by the others.

* * *

We walked all through the night and by the time the sun was up, we were standing just inside Vaesen Town's north gate. It was a bit larger than I had expected it to be and it was bustling with Pokémon of all different shapes, colors, and sizes. There were small open air stalls selling various wares and a few tents scattered to and fro that didn't seem to have anything in them. There was one tent in particular that seemed busier than the rest. It didn't look like anything special; just a white tent that was a little wider than the rest. But as I watched, I realized that there were passages leading down underground as every Pokémon that entered the tent was entering a hole of some kind and climbing downwards.

"Well, this is our stop, Valter. We've gotta go confirm that the job request was completed." Erlend said. "I assume you'll be okay without us?"

"Oh, uh, yeah. I-I'll be fine." I tried to manage a weak smile.

He merely nodded and before I knew it, he and his team were entering the very same white tent I had been watching before.

I had told them I was fine, but in reality, I was still freaking out. Nothing made sense! Why was I a Pokémon? What was this town? I'd never seen anything like this before!...or at least I didn't think I had, but it was hard to tell when I didn't have any memories…

 _I don't even know what to do! I'm stuck in a town I don't know, with zero idea who I am aside from my name and the fact that I used to be human! What even is there to do now? Gaaaaahhh, could you please throw me a bone, God, or Arceus, or whoever held dominion over this world?_

"Hey, buddy, you look a little lost. This your first time here?"

The source of the voice was a Pokémon I recognized as a Cacturne. He would have looked completely normal if it hadn't been for the stitches across his left eye and in various places along his right arm.

"Y-yeah." _That was fast, Arceus._

"Follow me, I know just what you need." I thought I saw him smile, but it was only for a moment so I couldn't be sure.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for taking the time to read the first chapter of this Fanfic! Now as you may have seen advertised in the summary, you can submit your own OCs for this story; not all of them will have a big part however, some will play major characters, some will be minor characters, and others will only make a cameo, and I apologize that not everyone's can be a main character. But anyway! Here is the Template!**

 **Name:**

 **Age:**

 **Gender:**

 **Pokémon: (No legendaries or shinies unless you can give me a REALLY good reason for it)**

 **Personality: (I really need details on this one, it's really important for me to know what your character is like so I can portray them properly)**

 **History: (Just a short paragraph about their past)**

 **Accessories: (No more than TWO accessories! I don't need any Pokémon decked out with so much bling that they can't walk)**

 **Good or Evil?: (Self explanatory)**

 **Role: (Are they a part of a Rescue Team, do they own a shop, are they a police officer, serial kidnapper, thief, etc. etc.)**

 **I'll also be doing shout outs at the beginning of each chapter for those that review, follow, or favorite. In addition, if you review me, I'll review back on one of your stories if you have them!**

 **Thanks for reading! Farvel!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

* * *

I had been silently following the Cacturne for quite a while, and from what I could tell, we were going in circles. I hadn't noticed anything the first few laps we made around town, and then I started to recognize the same landmarks over and over again but I didn't say anything due to the fact that Cacturne knew this town better than I did, or so I thought.

"Um, are you sure you know where we're going, Mr…?" I said, hoping he'd finish my sentence.

"Claude. Claude Kaiser is my name, and no, I have no idea where we're going." He voice was so even that I couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not.

"Are…are you being sarcastic?" I automatically winced from the retort that I expected to follow my question but didn't.

"Nope! Completely serious; I've never been in this town before." The way he said it made it sound like he was proud of that fact.

"So…then what were you talking about when you said you knew just what I needed?"

"I only said that so you'd follow me around for a bit."

I was thoroughly confused by this point. One second, Claude seems like an upstanding gentleman who only wants to help me out, and now he's acting like a mischievous child playing a prank.

"Okay, wait, stop for a second." I said. Claude slowed his pace to a stop and turned around to face me, a huge grin adorning his face. "So what's the deal then? If you don't know where you're going, what was the point in having me follow you around?"

He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "That's a good question. I guess I was hoping you and I would get along and that mayb-" He was cut off abruptly by someone running down the street towards us while yelling at the top of their lungs.

"Claude Kaiser! Stop where you are!" Now that they were closer, I could see there were three Pokémon rushing over to us: a Nidoking, a Magneton, and a Mawile. "Step away from that Cacturne, kid." The Nidoking's words were directed at me but his eyes never left Claude.

Out of the three of them, the Mawile seemed to stand out a bit; both Nidoking and Magneton wore golden badges inscribed with the words 'Vaesen Town Police'. Mawile, however, did not wear such a badge. Instead, he wore an iron choker chain around his neck with some kind of stone hooked onto it. He also looked like he hadn't slept in days; the spaces around his eyes looking more like a couple of black holes than anything else.

"Wait, what's going on?!" I asked, starting to panic.

"That Cacturne, Claude Kaiser, is a notorious criminal that's been on the loose for longer than we'd like to admit." Magneton spoke this time.

I slowly backed away from Claude, hoping my face wasn't showing too much fear. I'd been in the company of a notorious criminal for the last hour, at least! It was a miracle that nothing had happened to me in such a long period of time!

"Aww, come one, kid. Don't give me that look, especially when you haven't even given me your name yet."

 _What? Those two things aren't related in any way shape or form! And why would I give him my name now that I know he's a wanted criminal?_

Judging from their expressions, I could tell the others were having a similar thought.

"All right, I've had enough of this bull. Claude! I'm taking you down!" The Mawile cried out as he was quickly enveloped inside a large orb. The orb remained only a few seconds before bursting open to reveal a very different Mawile. He was now pink from the waist down and possessed not one but two of the deceptive, mouth like appendages hanging from the back of his head.

"Now now, is that any way to treat an old friend, Thirteen?" Claude cackled madly as if he had made the funniest joke in the world.

"Shut up! We were never friends and you know it! You were fortunate enough to cross my path before the police were lining my pockets for the express purpose of catching up to you!" Without another word, Mawile made a mad dash towards Claude, his fist glowing purple. The Cacturne nimbly dodged to the side as Mawile went past like a bullet.

"Ahahaha! A Sucker Punch, Thirteen? Surely you can do better than that! I'll tell you what, if you and your police buddies can manage to land a hit on me, I'll give myself up. But if you can't...heheheh...I'd hate to think what might happen to young Sylvia and Tina. Tell me, have the girls ever been to the Magma Caverns? I would be overjoyed to take them on a day trip!"

"You wouldn't dare!" Mawile snarled as he made a signal with his hand, causing Nidoking and Magneton to join him in forming a triangle around Claude.

"This is the end of the line for you, scum!" The Nidoking piped up.

"One-hundred and thirty-two." Claude said simply.

"Response does not fit with context of current conversation. Elaborate." Magneton said.

"Oh, haha, forgive me. For my own amusement, I keep track of how many times I've heard certain lines from the various Rescue Teams, Exploration Teams, and Police Forces."

"Grrr! Quit mocking us!" Nidoking roared, rage evident on his face.

To my surprise, Claude stayed quiet for a moment before replying. "Sixty…seven, I believe." He said, his face screwed up into an expression of concentration.

"Enough!" Nidoking's horn glowed with a bright light as he lunged forward. Cacturne leapt over Nidoking's lunge, rewarding him with a Needle Arm for his efforts, causing Nidoking to stumble and loose his footing. Magneton and Mawile attacked from either side; Mawile stirring up a strange wind to send Claude's way, whilst Magneton shot a simple Thunderbolt. The attacks collided against Claude, causing a smoke cloud to erupt. Nidoking was back on his feet by this point; all three of them standing just outside the cloud, waiting for the smoke to clear. When it did, Claude was down on one knee, gasping for breath. Stepping triumphantly towards the defeated criminal, Nidoking cuffed the two of them together.

"Where's your bravado now, you piece of garbage?" Nidoking asked.

"Ninety-one." We all whipped around to face the source of the voice that was standing….right behind me? A jack-o-lantern grin plastered on his face, Claude stood behind me.

 _B-but…how? I thought that Nidoking cuffed him!_

I looked back to the figure bound to Nidoking, finding that it had gone limp. It was nothing more than a dummy!

"Haha! By the expressions you all bear, you'd think none of you have ever seen a Substitute! Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be taking this!" Claude's needled arm wrapped around me, grasping me tightly.

 _Crap! I got so wrapped up in watching the battle that I forgot I was even involved, or present for that matter!_

"I won't let you take an innocent!" Mawile shot forward, faster than I had expected him to, smacking the Cacturne's face and resulting in my being released. As soon as I hit the ground, I ran for cover behind Nidoking, peering out from behind him to watch what would happen.

"Well well well, it seems you're more competent than the last time we met, Thirteen. And would you look at that! You managed to land a single hit! I guess I'll have to save my play date with Sylvia and Tina for another day, but that's okay, I have places to do and things to be." He chuckled to himself briefly before speaking once more. "Scratch that. Reverse it, hahaha. Toodle-oo!"

Before the police could do anything else, a bright light emitted from Claude, forcing us all to squeeze our eyes shut. When the light faded, Claude was nowhere to be seen. Nidoking and Mawile were not happy about it.

"GRAAAAAHHH! HOW?! HOW DOES HE ESCAPE EVERY. SINGLE. TIME!?" Nidoking raged, stomping on the substitute still handcuffed to him to blow of some steam.

"Request: Please refrain from unleashing your frustrations, Officer Matthew." Magneton said in its mechanical voice and, to my surprise, Nidoking actually listened to Magneton's request.

"Hey, you." Mawile said, turning to face me. "Why were you hanging around a shady character like that, huh?"

"To be honest, I just got here this morning and I was totally lost, so he offered to show me around, before admitting that he's never been here before either." I answered a little sheepishly.

"Riiiight. You got a name?"

"Um, Valter. Valter Lund."

"Alright, Valter, I'm gonna ask you to stick around for the next few days, just so the police can make sure you're not a criminal yourself. Got it?"

"Uh, yeah. But, you said 'the police' like you're not one of them." I commented.

"I'm not. I work at the Explorer's Guild on the east side of town; the police are just paying me to assist them in capturing Claude Kaiser. Otherwise, I wouldn't have any interest. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to track down a criminal."

I watched as the three of them left, with Officer Matthew still dragging the substitute alongside him.

 _An Explorer huh? I would have asked what that is, but I get the feeling it would have been another stupid question. More importantly, I need to figure out what to do with myself; I still have nowhere to stay nor do I have any food._

I looked around, hoping Arceus would throw me a bone that _wasn't_ a criminal.

 _Nothing to be found._

Just as I thought that, however, someone approached me from behind.

"Hey there, buddy. You look a little lost. This your first time here?"

 _This seems a bit familiar…_

I turned around, finding myself face to face with a Raichu, and behind him stood a Gardevoir and an Umbreon.

"My name's Zane. This is Hari," He gestured to the Gardevoir. "And this is Zeke. And we're Rescue Team Voltic Shadow Fairy!"

There was a long pause.

"Um, come again?" I asked.

"Ugh, leave it to Zane to overcomplicate things." Zeke said. "We're a Rescue Team, and Zane over there thought it was a good idea to name our team 'Voltic Shadow Fairy'." He said the last part with a level of disdain I didn't know was possible.

"And! And, we all have cool titles!" Zane added.

"Since when did we have titles?" Zeke rolled his eyes.

"Since…just now! I'm Zane the Thunderhead, she's Hari the Elegant, and he's Zeke the Pessimist!" Zane giggled at his own joke. "Oh! I know! I'll give you a title too, kid! What's your name?"

 _I…I don't even know what to do in this situation, too much information has been thrown at me that I haven't even had the chance to process._

"M-my name's Valter Lund."

"Great! Just give me one second!" Zane placed his paws up on his temples and started grunting as if that would help him think harder. "I've got it! You'll be…Valter the Moonstone!"

Another pause.

"Zane. Just stop. Why a moonstone? Machops have absolutely nothing to do with any stones of any kind." Zeke sighed. "Now if you're done playing, can we please get back to the task at hand?"

"Uuuhhhh, fiiine! You really need to learn how to have fun, Zeke."

The two of them walked past me, arguing about whether Zeke knew how to have fun or not.

 _I'm so emotionally drained. I have no idea where I am, why I'm a Pokémon, who I used to be, or what to do next. And then I got thrown into the middle of a battle between a wanted Pokémon and the law, and then I'm beset by a Raichu who has waaaaaaay too much energy and not enough creative capability!_

I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up to find the Gardevoir, I think Zane called her Hari, staring down at me with a concerned expression.

"Are you okay? I'm sensing some mental and emotional turmoil."

 _Shoot! I've got to be more careful around Psychic Pokémon!...But…it would be nice to vent to someone…._

"Well, it's kind of a long story." I said with my eyes downcast.

"I'm willing to listen. I can always catch up with my team later." She gave me a warm smile.

"Alright, yesterday, I woke up in a forest with no memory of who I am or how I got there. And after a while, I ran into a Rescue Team calling themselves, um…Team Augment, I think. So I followed them back here to Vaesen Town, then I got mixed up with the police and a criminal, and then you guys found me." I took a deep breath. "Quite frankly, I don't know what to do from here…"

She stayed quiet for a few seconds, processing what I had said I assumed.

"From what you've said, I think you have amnesia, and I don't know how to get your memories back, but I can get you a place to stay…at least for tonight."

My eyes lit up, and for the first time since I awoke in that forest, I felt hope. "R-really? Where?"

"Hmhm, you could go to one of two places; There's the Explorer's Guild or the Rescue Team Bureau."

"What's the difference between the two?" I asked out of curiosity.

"Well, um, Rescue Teams are formed by people who want to help people in these troubling times and often times their clients will pay them in some way. Explorers on the other hand are only in it for themselves; they go adventuring into Mystery Dungeons so they can find treasure, and they only help people if they're sure that they'll get paid." I could hear a hint of irritation behind her otherwise kind demeanor. "The Rescue Bureau is located in a white tent near the entrance to the town, and the Explorer's Guild is on top of a hill on the east side of town. Will you be okay finding them by yourself?"

"I, uh, I think so. Thank you..um..Hari." She seemed surprised that I had remembered her name.

"You're welcome, Valter." She smiled. And with a wave, she started off in the same direction that Zane and Zeke had gone.

… _Why did I open up to her so much? I only just barely met her. I guess I'm just exhausted from the day's events and it's leaving me particularly emotional._

 _Now, I should probably head over to one of the places she mentioned. She said the Rescue Bureau was in a white tent near the entrance; if that's the case, then that must have been to tent I saw Erlend and his team go into. Since I already know where it's at, I guess I'll go there._

I started my walk around town to find my way back to the entrance. The sun was already on its way down from its place in the sky; Today's events must have been longer than I thought. As I walked, I watched the Pokémon around me. There were so many different kinds doing so many different things; there were two Kecleons at a stall, selling apples to the most unlikely of pairs; I could see a Tyranitar with a Weedle, a Zangoose with a Seviper, and a Ludicolo who looked like he was about to start dancing was hanging out with a Slaking. Even though they all had huge differences, they were able to put those differences aside for the sake of being friends. There was something fantastical about the whole thing. Hopefully I'd find such friends before long; otherwise I wouldn't make it very far in this world.

I found the white tent that I'd seen earlier that day and stepped inside. It was completely empty except for a large hole in the floor with a ladder going down one side. I glanced around to make sure I hadn't missed something, before descending the ladder.

It certainly went a lot farther down than I had expected; I had been climbing for what felt like hours before my feet finally hit the bottom. I turned away from the ladder and saw a single door before me with a Metagross standing next to it.

"Name?" It said mechanically.

"Valter Lund."

"…There is no Valter Lund in my databases. What is your reason for visiting the Rescue Bureau?"

"I-I'm looking for a place to stay."

"….Acknowledged. You will be allowed to stay in one of the spare rooms for one night and then you will be required to leave. Please enter."

The door opened and the Metagross said nothing else. I walked towards the door warily, not sure if Metagross was going to do anything else or not.

As soon as I had stepped across the threshold, the door slammed behind me. Ahead of me was a massive stone room. I could see hundreds, or maybe thousands of Pokémon moving around from place to place. There were doorways upon doorways upon doorways adorning the walls.

"Heeelllooooo, I heard from Metagross. You're going to stay in one of the spare rooms, no?"

The voice sent chills down my spine and I felt like I was paralyzed as the owner of the voice rose from the floor in front of me. It was a Spiritomb, and she was wearing the single most terrifying grin I'd ever had the displeasure of seeing.

"Y-y-yes, ma'am." I answered.

"Hahaha! There's no need to be afraid. I know my appearance can be off putting, but I'm really not that bad. Now follow me please!"

She began floating towards one of the many doorways on the wall. We passed through the doorway and down an innumerable amount of twisty and branching hallways before she stopped me in front of a small, purple door that looked like it hadn't seen use in years.

"This is one of our older rooms, and to be honest, it hasn't been used in years." _I rest my case._ "But it should still be in pretty good condition. So get yourself settled in and I'll get you something to eat; it looks like it's been a while since the last time you ate."

After she left, I opened the door and peered inside. There were blue candles high up on the walls. The floor was dirt as opposed to the gray stone flooring I had seen before, but I guess that was just a testament to how old this part of the Bureau was. There was a small bed made of hay in the corner, a table and chairs in the middle of the room, and a dirty mat beneath my feet that read 'Welcome!'

All in all, it was in fact in fairly good condition for not being used in years and it was better than sleeping outside. That much was for sure.

I laid myself down in the hay and began contemplating my next move.

 _I can only stay here for tonight, and after that I'm out of luck. So what am I gonna do? I'll have to build my own house, maybe start a business? Nah, I don't have any skills that people would pay for. Wait, didn't Hari mention something about being able to stay here longer if I was on a Rescue Team? Maybe doing that would be the best move; I'd have free shelter, I could do jobs for people and get paid for it. The only problem lies in the fact that it's supposed to be a Rescue TEAM, as in, not just one person. Which means I'd have to find someone else to be on the team with me….unfortunately, I don't know many people. I know Erlend, but he already has a team. I kind of know Zane, Hari, and Zeke, but they already have their team. There was that Mawile from earlier today, I think Claude called him Thirteen, but he's an explorer and he seems like a pretty seasoned battler too, so I doubt he'd want to team up with me. I wonder if there are any other Pokémon staying in spare rooms because they have nowhere to go?_

Spiritomb chose that opportune moment to return, scaring the living daylights out of me in the process.

"I brought you a couple of apples from the kitchen!" She said happily.

"Geez! Don't startle me like that! I almost had a heart attack." I calmed myself, taking another deep breath before speaking again. "H-hey, Spiritomb?

"Oh please, call me Laura." She said, setting the apples on the table.

"Okay. Um, Laura? Are there any other Pokémon here like me?"

"You mean Fighting type Pokémon? Or your evolutionary line specifically?"

"No no, I mean that are staying in a spare room because they don't have anywhere else to go."

"Oh! Of course! There are a lot of people that stay for a night while passing through on their way to another town." A look of realization dawned on her face. "Ohhhh. You're thinking of forming a Rescue Team aren't you?"

I sat up. "How did you know?"

"You're not the first to make that plan. Unfortunately, most of the Pokémon that stay here are already a part of some kind of team, or they're business owners on their way to set up shop in another town."

"Oh…" My gaze fell back to the floor.

"Uh, b-but there are a few others staying here that are in the same boat as you!"

"Do you think I could meet them?" I blurted out. This was possibly my only chance of finding a teammate.

"I'd be happy to! Come this way, please!" Laura smiled.

She led me back out into the twisted hallways of the Bureau and back the way we had come from earlier. It was easy enough for her to keep moving forward as her ghostly constitution allowed her to easily phase through walls and even other Pokémon, but I had a hard time keeping up due to the large numbers of Pokémon moving through the halls and Laura often chided me for falling behind.

 _Let's see you try to make it through this crowd without your Ghost-type abilities._

I grumbled under my breath the whole way; wondering just how far away these Pokémon were.

After what seemed like forever, Laura and I found ourselves at a door that looked much nicer than my own. I grasped the handle and slowly opened the door. Inside, were two Pokémon; a Whismur and a Pawniard. Both of them looked up from what they were doing as the door opened.

"Um, can we help you?" The Pawniard asked with a tilt of his head.

Laura gave me a quick nudge as if to say 'Go ahead'. I cleared my throat and took a deep breath; for a reason I couldn't quite place, I was really nervous about this. I didn't know if it was because I didn't know them, or because I was going to ask them to make a long term commitment, or some other reason. But whatever the case, I was shaking due to my nerves.

"I…uh…I-I was wondering if, you know, maybe one of you would…like to form a Rescue Team with me?"

The two shared a glance, and for a moment, I thought they were seriously considering my proposition. But as they turned their attention back to me, my hopes were shattered.

"We'd love to, but we've already been recruited by another Pokémon for his Rescue Team." Whismur said.

They both gave me sympathetic looks before awkwardly going back to what they'd been doing before I came in, which I could now see that they had been looking over a map.

My chin dropped to my chest as I slowly and dejectedly walked out of the room and back to the twisted hallways of the Bureau. Laura closed the door behind us before trying to console me.

"Aw, don't be down. They aren't the only two Pokémon available, so chin up! We'll find someone even better for you, okay?" Laura was starting to sound a lot like a doting mother.

"Lead the way." I sighed.

Over the next couple of hours, we visited countless Pokémon, more than I initially thought we would. There was a Cyndaquil, a Gulpin, Meowth, Nuzleaf, and many, many more. To begin with, I was becoming increasingly depressed with each rejection, but by this point, I simply expected the rejection. Eventually, we came to yet another door that was indistinguishable from the rest. I made a quick knock on the door followed by shuffling sounds coming from inside. The shuffling stopped and a few moments later, the door was opened to a crack and all I could see was a large reptilian eye surrounded by blue scales.

"Y-yes? Do you need something?" He sounded wary, if not downright terrified. I was slightly taken aback by this, but quickly dismissed it.

"Hi. My name is Valter Lund and I'm looking for a Rescue Team partner." I said in a rather mechanical way; I had said that same line over and over with the other Pokémon and it was now deeply ingrained in my mind.

"R-Really?!"The Pokémon's eye widened just a bit. He swung the door open and I could now see that he was a Totodile. "Are you really?"

"Uh, yeah, I am. Would you happen to be interested?" Strange. I hadn't gotten this reaction from any other Pokémon yet.

"Oh my gosh! Is this really happening? This isn't just another dream is it?" The Totodile proceeded to pinch himself. "Ouch! Nope, this is real!"

"So, um, are you up for it?" _As if I had to ask._

"YES! I'm totally up for it! My name is Clyde and I've been trying to join a Rescue Team foreeeeevvvveeer!" I could practically see the gleam of excitement in his eyes. "So what's our team name? When should we do our first job?"

"I…hadn't really thought about...either of those things. Any suggestions?"

"Let's do a job first thing in the morning, after we register of course. And as for a team name, what about something like…Team Leviathan!" He swished his hand through the air for extra effect. "What do you think?"

"Erm, I feel like Leviathan might be a little show-off-ish, especially since we're only just starting. Maybe something a little simpler?"

"Hm, you've got a point." His face took on a look of extreme concentration.

While he was thinking, I noticed all of a sudden that Laura had left at some point during the conversation. Now how was I going to get back to my room?

"Aha! I've got it; Team Chop! I just used the last part of your species name, and it has a nice ring to it, if I do say so myself."

"Team…Chop?"

"Do you not like it?" He asked.

"No no, it's just…you're right. It does have a nice ring to it. Team Chop it is!" I exclaimed.

"Alright! Now, thinking about it, we should go get registered now so we don't have to in the morning."

"Uh, that's a great idea but, how are we supposed to find our way through all of the branching halls of this place? It's like a labyrinth!"

"Ah, not to worry, I know these halls as well as any Rescue Team here. I've been in here quite a few times because my brother has a team of his own and they've brought me in here a lot. Now come on, let's go!" He dashed out the door and started down one of the many branches without a hint of hesitation. And so, I once again found myself being led through the maze, having to hold faith that my guide knew as much as he said he did.

Before long, we arrived back in the massive hub-like room. We weren't there for long, however, as Clyde headed down another corridor near where we had just exited. With a groan, I followed him in, only to be pleasantly surprised. It wasn't a hallway at all, but a small room with a reception desk and three doors on either side of it. Without waiting, Clyde ran to the seemingly deserted reception desk and rang the bell on the counter.

"Um, Clyde? I don't think there's any…" I cut my sentence short as a Gengar suddenly appeared behind the desk.

"Keheheh! Alistair, at your service!" I was more than a little wary after that chuckle, but Clyde didn't even bat an eyelash.

"Hey, Alistair! Valter and I are here to register our Rescue Team!"

"Hoh? So you're finally gonna have a Rescue Team, Clyde? That's great!" I was still too creeped out by Alistair's laugh and smile to say anything, but from what I could tell, the two already knew each other. "Right then! Who's is the team leader?"

"Valter is." Clyde answered quickly.

 _Wait, what?! Since when was I the leader?_

"Okay. And your team name?" Alistair asked.

"Team Chop."

"Aaalllrighty then." Alistair jotted something down on a paper in front of him before psychically placing it in a small drawer. "All that's left is the Judge's Review. They're all busy currently, so I'd ask that you take a seat over there."

We took our seats on the bench Alistair had gestured towards. I was glad we had a little bit of time so I could ask Clyde what the heck was going on!

"Clyde?"

"Yeah?"

"A few questions. First: why am I the leader?"

"Oh, well I just assumed you were since _you_ asked _me_ to join the team. I hope that's okay."

I sighed. "Yeah, it's fine. Second question: who or what are the Judges?"

"You don't know?" He looked confused for a second before shrugging and explaining anyway. "There are seven Judges in total. They're the main leaders of the world; there used to be a few kingdoms around, but when they started waging war on each other, everyone was forced to pick a side. Some Pokémon preferred not to be involved in senseless killing and instead started forming Rescue Teams to help the villagers caught in the middle of the madness. Eventually, the ward ended with all of the kingdoms having depleted each other's kingdoms of resources and Pokémon, so the kingdoms crumbled and everything became simpler with Pokémon living in harmony. But without a governing force, things became chaotic once again. That was when seven Pokémon came from nowhere and lead everyone from ruin. Initially, the villagers wanted one of the seven to become their new king, but the seven were wise and knew that erecting another kingdom would only spawn more trouble, so instead, they set up the rule of Judges where instead of a singular ruler who held all power, the power was split between the seven, making it so that when a major decision was to be made, they had the wisdom and council of seven Pokémon instead of one."

My mind connected the dots and I glanced at the doors on either side of the reception desk before turning back to Clyde.

"So, if there are seven Judges, why are there only six doors here?"

"Well, no one except for the other Judges know for sure, but there are many rumors about that; ranging from speculation that the seventh Judge abandoned his post to theories that the seventh Judge is actually Arceus himself! But like I said, no one knows for sure." He explained.

 _Arceus, huh? If that were true, I'd certainly like to have a word with him; if anybody knows why I turned into a Pokémon, it would be him._

"Team Chop! Judge number one is ready to see you!" Alistair called from his place at the reception desk.

Clyde and I hopped off the bench and I followed him into the leftmost door. The inside was not what I had expected; it was a lush, green forest brimming with plant life. Apparently, Clyde had never been here before either as he looked just as shocked as I felt.

"Hello?" I called.

"Over here!" I'm sure the voice's owner had intended to lead us towards him, but the voice sounded like it was coming from all around. Clyde and I shared a confused look before continuing forward. We walked for quite a while, proving that the room was much larger than I had anticipated, when out of the blue, I could smell something; and it smelled delicious. I could see that Clyde had smelled it too as he was already on his way towards where the scent was coming from. We moved in the direction of the wondrous scent without a second thought; it smelled too good to ignore. What we found at the end of the scent trail was a hole containing a honey-like substance that I could only assume was the source of the heavenly smell. Without any hesitation, Clyde reached in to grab some, only for the hole to close on him, trapping the top half of his body inside while his legs flailed about; trying in vain to free himself.

The hole rose up from the ground, revealing itself it be not a hole at all, but a very large Victreebel!

"Grrrraahhhh! AAghghAghaghga!" It whipped Clyde back and forth and I was afraid he was going to tear in half.

 _W-what can I do against a monster like that!? I can't do anything…but…I have to try! Or else Clyde's going to get eaten!_

Steeling my nerves and balling my fist, I charged the flycatcher Pokémon with everything I had. I reared back my fist and as I did, I felt the air around my fist start to cool down considerably and watched my fist become incased in ice as I brought it forward to strike. The punch connected with the Victreebel's belly, causing it to spit out Clyde who rolled a few times before coming to a stop, covered in some kind of goo. Victreebel collapsed in front of me and I breathed a sigh of relief, but as I did, the monster shot back up.

"GRAAAAAAHHHHHHHahahahahhhaaa…." _Was that a laugh?_ "Sorry about that, kids. I couldn't help myself. It's just too much fun to terrorize unwitting Pokémon."

I helped Clyde up and we both took fighting stances, expecting another attack.

"Whoa, slow down! It was just a prank, don't be so serious. Geez." Victreebel crossed its leafy arms and huffed. "I guess we should get on with the review then, since you two are so uptight. I mean, really, you remind me of Clara; if ever there was a party pooper it's her. You know what I mean?"

I was severely confused. A second ago he legit looked like he wanted to eat us, and now he seemed like a totally cool dude.

"Um, sure, but who are you?" Claude asked.

"Oh, where are my manners!" _Not here._ "I am Judge Number One! My name is Victreebel!"

"Your name is the same as your species?" I asked.

"Yeah, I was pretty small when I was born and my parents didn't think I'd survive past infancy so they never gave me a name. Well what about now, Dad? You never thought I'd amount to anything, but look at me know! You were wrong!" He continued to rant to himself about his daddy problems for a couple of minutes before Clyde interrupted him.

"So, uh, what about the review, sir?" Clyde asked.

"What? Oh, right. Yeah, you guys pass, you're good to go." He gave us what I guess was a Victreebel's version of a thumbs up.

"B-but we didn't even do anything!" Clyde protested.

 _Please Clyde, just shut up and take what we got…_

"Well sure you did! Your teammate managed to muster the courage to confront me despite my large size when you were being swallowed, you were both ready to fight me even though I was a clearly superior opponent, and through this experience, both of you have learned not to trust strange smells. And it may seem trivial now, but had I been a Wild or a criminal, both of you would have been on your way through my digestive system by now." Victreebel said. "And now that I think about it, you used Ice Punch didn't you, Machop? You're lucky, very few Pokémon acquire a move that's outside their move sets, it's not unheard of, but still quite rare. Make sure you cherish that gift."

 _Is that what that was? An Ice Punch? Huh, well, I'm not complaining. That'll definitely come in handy._

"Now that the review is finished, you two are free to leave at your own leisure. However, out of curiosity, how long have you two known each other?" Victreebel asked.

"We met about…twenty minutes ago, I think." Clyde answered.

"Only that long? Did you not think that that's a little bit soon to be making a Rescue Team together?"

"To be honest, it was either that or be homeless without a clue what to do." I said.

"What do you mean? Surely you have family somewhere that you could have stayed with."

"Well, not really, I…kind of…have amnesia a little."

"What?! I didn't know that!" Clyde exclaimed.

"Hmm, interesting. Can you remember anything at all?" Victreebel seemed oddly focused now.

"I can remember my own name and that I used to be a human." As soon as the words left my mouth I instantly regretted them.

 _Dang it! I didn't want to let anyone know I was human, but it just slipped out. Gahh, I really need to think before I say stuff._

"H-H-Human!?" Clyde was freaking out; turning circles and mumbling to himself.

Strangely enough, Victreebel didn't look surprised; instead, he looked like he was about to blow his top. He was trembling in anger and I could hear some kind of liquid bubbling inside of him. I thought for sure that that was going to be my end; I was going to get eaten for sliced to pieces. Fortunately, I was mistaken.

"Machop." He said, trying to contain his rage. "Make sure that nobody else finds out about your secret. And just as a heads-up, I may be speaking with you again very soon. You are dismissed, I have to think."

Without another word, Victreebel turned from us and made his way deeper into the forest. I breathed a heavy sigh and looked over at Clyde; he looked like he was doing some deep thinking too. I tapped him on the shoulder, snapping him out of his reverie.

"Hey, you okay?" I asked.

"I...were you really a Human?"

"As far as I can remember, yeah…I was."

"I see. Victreebel was right to tell you not to let anyone else in on that. There are a few different accounts throughout our history of Humans turning into a Pokémon. The first time was several hundred years ago, when a Human wound up in this world as a Pokémon and ended up going on a great adventure that took him from the frozen peaks of Mt. Freeze all the way to the summit of Sky Tower to plead with Rayquaza to destroy a meteor, at least that's how the story goes. The second time was more recent but still a few hundred years ago; at that point in time, the Rescue Bureau had disappeared for unknown reasons and that left only the Explorer's Guilds. That Human became an explorer and embarked on a journey that took him through space and time, and he somehow managed to defeat not only the Legendary Pokémon Dialga, but also the fabled Pitch-Black Pokémon Darkrai. Both of those Humans were truly good, but the third time this phenomena happened, that Human was far from virtuous; he ravaged the land, killing all in his path and setting fire to everything he could.

"In the first two instances, it was identified why and how they became Pokémon; the first chose to become a Pokémon and lose his memories in order to save this world. The second had an accident while traveling through time and ended up transforming. The third though, nothing and no one ever explained why he was here or how he got here and it is presumed that he still retained his memories of his Human life due to his wicked actions. After all, the first chose to lose his memories in order to become more pure and to be sure he made the right choices.

"So you see, some may have a positive outlook on Humans due to the influence of the first two that saved our world, but there would also be others that would attempt to get rid of you because they have bitter memories of the third."

My mind was racing trying to go back over everything that had been said.

 _So…there were others like me at some point? But that still doesn't answer why I'm here or how I got here. I doubt I'm here to save the world; all seems pretty peaceful here. But then why? Someone had to have sent me here knowing exactly what would happen to me, but who would do such a thing? Bah, why even bother asking myself that, it's not like I know anybody who could accomplish that._

"C'mon, I'll let you process that on the way back out." Clyde grabbed me by the arm and start tugging me away; presumably towards the exit.

My focus on the outside world faded in and out while my mind was busy concentrating on what Clyde had told me. I saw us stop at the reception desk and saw Alistair hand Clyde a box, but it felt like I wasn't even there; it felt like I was watching through someone else's eyes. Everything seemed so surreal right then and to be totally honest, I was surprised Clyde was taking the news of me being Human as well as he was. My consciousness faded again and when I came back to, we were in a small room equipped with a couple of bedrolls, a table with chairs, a desk, and wall mounted hooks for hanging something on.

"Where are we?" I asked, still scanning the room.

"Oh, you're back from La-La land I see." Clyde said with a chuckle. "This is our Rescue Team Base starting now. I know it doesn't look like much, but I think it'll suit whatever needs we have. What do you think?"

"I think it'll be fine."

"You okay? You seem like you're still a little bit out of it. Anything you want to talk about?" Clyde looked at me with worry written on his face.

I shook my head. "Nah, I'll be fine. I just…I didn't expect that there would have been others in my predicament."

"Yeah, I can imagine that must be pretty surprising. But! If we can, I'd like to leave that behind us. For right now, I have something to show you." Clyde pulled out a chair and sat down at the table. "Take a seat please, Valter."

I did as he asked, wondering what it could be that he wanted to show me. Once I was comfortably seated, Clyde pulled up the box I had seen Alistair hand to him and before my eyes; he opened the box and pulled out a small plastic case, a number of purple neckerchiefs with icy-blue accents, a khaki colored backpack, and a newspaper of some kind.

"Now before you ask any questions, let me explain what all of this is: these neckerchiefs are unique to our Rescue Team, so if we get a lot of members then it'll be easier to distinguish them from others of their species. This is our Rescue Pack; it looks like a normal backpack, but it's actually a lot bigger on the inside then it should be able to be and that is because it's been altered by a Ghost-type Pokémon so that the inside connects to a small pocket dimension, and by small, I mean really small; it holds more than the regular backpack would, but only by an item or two.

"This case has our Rescue Badges in it; they identify us as legitimate Rescue Team members and they allow us to teleport from inside a Mystery Dungeon to the outside of the same Mystery Dungeon."

"Um, question? What is a Mystery Dungeon?" I got the sinking feeling it was another one of those stupid questions that I'd been on a roll with lately.

"Right, I forgot you have amnesia." Clyde rubbed his temples. "A Mystery Dungeon is a forest or cave or on occasion an abandoned town or something where a natural phenomenon causes the location to warp and change. From outside of the dungeon, nothing will look wrong with it, but once you enter the location the whole place will shift around creating a labyrinth that changes every time you enter. It's still unknown what causes these Mystery Dungeons to pop up, but it has slowly become a natural part of our world.

"Mystery Dungeons are primarily where Rescue Teams and Explorers go to fulfill missions or job requests due to how easy it is for someone to get lost inside a Mystery Dungeon or wander into one unknowingly and not be able to get out."

"Okay…That seems more than a little strange and anything but natural." I commented.

"Well, that's just the way it is and there's nothing anyone has been able to do about it." Clyde shrugged.

"Right. So what's the newspaper?"

"Oh! This is today's edition of Pokémon News; it's not a very original name for a newspaper, but this is among a Rescue Teams best resources. It lets us know what's going on in the world and even has a few job requests listed at the back which is convenient for if you don't want to fight the crowd to get to the Job Boards. And I think that does it for the explanations, any questions?" Clyde smiled proudly at me.

I crossed my arms as I mulled over all that had been explained before answering.

"Not that I can think of, but if I have any then I'll let you know."

"All right then!" Clyde threw me one of the neckerchiefs and proceeded to tie one around his neck.

I followed his example and did the same. After we both had them tied tightly, he grabbed the little plastic case; retrieving our Rescue Badges from within and threw one of those to me as well. I didn't know what to do with it, so I simply watched Clyde pin it to his neckerchief and I followed suit.

"I can't believe it…I can't believe I'm finally part of a Rescue Team. I've waited so long for this to happen and here I am, standing in my very own Rescue Team Base, wearing my very own Rescue Team neckerchief and badge, alongside my very own Rescue Team teammate."

 _Now that he mentions it, it does seem kind of strange and dreamlike. When I woke up yesterday I didn't even know what a Rescue Team was, and now I'm the leader of one._

A clock chimed on the wall, signaling that it was now midnight.

"What! Is it that late already?!" Clyde exclaimed. "C'mon, Valter; we need to get to sleep as fast as possible if we're going to get up in time for breakfast tomorrow."

We hurried to our bedrolls and laid ourselves down. As we did, the torches in the room automatically went out.

 _Spooky…_

I snuggled myself into the bedroll and closed my eyes as I waited for sleep to take me away.

"Hey, Valter. Are you still awake?"

"Yeah, I don't fall asleep that fast."

"I'm sorry if I seemed kinda overexcited today. I've been waiting a long time to join a Rescue Team and no matter how many people I asked, no one would have me. So when Laura brought you to my room today and you asked if I wanted to form a team, I couldn't help but accept. I didn't know you at all, and I still don't really know you, but I hope that we can be good friends and that we'll be able to get to know each other during our adventures."

"Yeah, I was just happy to find someone who would make a team with me and who was okay with the idea of being friends with me. After all, an amnesiac doesn't have many friends."

"And who knows? Maybe we'll find out why you turned into a Pokémon during our travels, and hopefully we'll be able to get your memories back."

"That would be pretty nice, I have to admit."

Clyde didn't respond, and after a little bit I started to hear soft snores coming from his direction. I laughed to myself and snuggled deeper into the bedroll.

* * *

"I see that you're finally here. What could have possibly taken you so long?"

"My apologies, there was a scuffle in the square involving the police so I had to lay low until things cooled off."

"Whatever, it doesn't matter now. I've got our first target."

"A pichu? That seems a little low, even for us…"

"Hey, don't blame me. The order came from him."

"Really? But why would he take an interest in a Pichu, I thought he had his eyes set elsewhere."

"Just don't question it, you remember what happened the last time you questioned his orders."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'll get the kid, don't you worry about it. I've got it covered."

"For your sake, I hope you do."

* * *

 **A/N: Woo! This is the longest chapter I've ever written for anything. Let me know what you guys thought! Did I do well or not, was it too long or would you be okay with the chapters being longer, and to those of you whose OCs were in this chapter, did I portray them correctly?**

 **I'd like to mention that there were a couple of references in there. Two to be exact; whoever can find them will get…a big hug, or something.**

 **Thank you to EclipseKuran, PlasmaShinx77, Psychotic Sic, Readerfever, SDproductions, Shirou Fujimura, W. R. Winters, and craigprime for Favoriting!**

 **Thanks to Condor-K, DjairoH, EclipseKuran, Peeks, Psychotic Sic, Readerfever, SDproductions, Shirou Fujimura, W. R. Winters, and craigprime for Following!**

 **If I forgot someone in my thanks, please let me know as soon as possible so I can rectify my mistake.**

 **And a HUGE thank you to those of you who submitted OCs. I got a lot of really good OCs from only last chapter, but because I got so many, I'm only going to leave submissions up until the next chapter comes out. So if you wanted to send one in, now is the time!**

 **Along that line of thought, just for my own convenience, please start sending OCs via PM only. I didn't get too many via reviews last chapter anyway, but if I get too many in the reviews it'll get confusing and be hard for me to keep track of. So please only send OCs through PM. Sorry guests.**

 **For anyone wondering, the bright light that came from Claude was the move Flash. And the attack that Thirteen used to hit Claude was Knock Off.**

 **One piece of trivia: The Whismur and Pawniard were placed into this chapter because during the planning stages of this story both Pawniard and Whismur were going to be the partner Pokemon at one point or another.**

 **On a note not super related to the story, I write best when I'm listening to music, and I'm confident in the fact that this chapter would not have come this quickly had it not been for the influence of the songs listed below:**

 **-The Doctor's Wife by The Clockwork Quartet**

 **-Closer by The Clockwork Quartet**

 **-The Watchmaker's Apprentice by The Clockwork Quartet**

 **-Honeybee by Steam Powered Giraffe**

 **-Brass Goggles by Steam Powered Giraffe**

 **That's all of them. Yep! Just those five. They were amazingly great music to write to; they just make me so happy and when I'm happy I write really fast, although I cannot vouch for the quality. But anyways, check those songs out if you have the time!**

 **One last big thanks to those who read and reviewed. You guys are the ones that keep me motivated to keep writing for you guys.**

 **Farvel!**


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